Israel Kills Hamas Northern Gaza Chief al-Beik; 6 More Die Next Day
An Israeli strike killed Izz al-Din al-Beik, Hamas’s northern Gaza commander; medics say strikes killed at least six more on Wednesday despite the ceasefire.
GAZA CITY — Sep 30, 2026 — Israel killed Izz al-Din al-Beik, head of Hamas’s armed wing in northern Gaza, in a dawn airstrike on Tuesday, and Israeli strikes killed at least six more Palestinians on Wednesday, according to Reuters and Gaza health officials. Hamas confirmed al-Beik’s death, which came as the Israeli military says it has killed at least 20 Hamas figures this month under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that took effect last October.
The strike on al-Beik
Medics said the strike hit an apartment building in Gaza City’s Nasr neighborhood around dawn, and Al Jazeera reported that a second person later died of wounds at al-Shifa Hospital. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement on X that the military had killed al-Beik. Israel’s government said he was involved in planning attacks and recruiting, Reuters reported. Hamas described him as a leader of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, according to the same report, and the Qassam Brigades called the killing an Israeli “assassination operation,” The New Arab reported.
Al Jazeera said al-Beik took command of the Qassam Brigades in northern Gaza after senior commander Ahmed al-Ghandour. Later on Tuesday a strike near a clinic in Jabalia refugee camp killed one person, bringing the day’s toll to at least three, medics said; the Israeli military said it had targeted a militant there.
Wednesday’s strikes
On Wednesday, an airstrike on a vehicle in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City killed at least four people and wounded 14, and an earlier strike on an apartment killed a woman, Asharq Al-Awsat reported, citing medics. Another strike outside a mosque in Khan Younis killed one person, taking the day’s toll to at least six. The New Arab gave a somewhat different count for Tel al-Hawa, five dead and 15 injured, which illustrates how early casualty figures vary between outlets.
Katz also said Hamas leaders outside Gaza are “within the scope of targeting,” The New Arab reported. The Israeli military has not said where or when any such operation would occur.
A ceasefire under strain
Israel says Hamas has been rearming and attacking in violation of the ceasefire. Hamas denies that, and accuses Israel of undermining the deal, according to Reuters. At least 1,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the truce began, health officials say, while Israel says four of its soldiers have died. Palestinian authorities put the overall death toll from the war at more than 73,000 in Reuters’ account, and more than 74,000 in Al Jazeera’s; Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel in October 2023.
Reconstruction, which the ceasefire framework envisions, has barely begun. Negotiators have not agreed on terms for Hamas to disarm or for Israeli troops to withdraw, Reuters said. Palestinian authorities estimate that more than 8,000 bodies remain under rubble. On Tuesday, residents of the Nuseirat camp buried the remains of 41 people killed in an Israeli strike on Oct. 31, 2023, recovered from a collapsed building.
Analysts quoted by The New Arab disagreed on how far Israeli politics explain the tempo of strikes. One, Mustafa Ibrahim, said security issues could dominate the campaign ahead of Israeli elections, but stressed there is no evidence of a direct link. Gaza residents quoted in the same report described living in constant uncertainty about where the next strike will land.
The deaths follow earlier Israeli operations that Peter’s World has covered this month, including the killing of a commander the military tied to the detention of hostages. Neither side has said it is abandoning the ceasefire, and the disarmament and withdrawal questions remain unresolved.
Sources
- Reuters via NBC News: Israel kills senior Hamas commander in Gaza strike
- Al Jazeera: Israeli forces kill Hamas commander Izz al-Din al-Beik
- Asharq Al-Awsat: Israeli strikes kill six people in Gaza, medics say
- The New Arab: As elections near, Israel is increasing ‘assassinations’ in Gaza
